Tag: Cereal

REVIEW: Funfetti Cereal

Julie 3 Comments

Funfetti Cereal Box

What is Funfetti Cereal

If you seek a socially acceptable way to eat cake for breakfast, Pillsbury is here to guide you with rainbow-speckled cereal puffs that recreate the taste of the company’s trademark sprinkle cake.

How is it?

Sugary cereals are one of my favorite comfort foods. I especially enjoy them as a snack between my third and fourth hours of languishing after work. While I often acknowledge kids as potential consumers when writing these reviews, I can’t help but feel like Funfetti Cereal was developed by Pillsbury especially for suckers like me.

If you purchase it, be sure to take a deep breath when you first open the bag. The vanilla aroma is wonderfully strong, the perfect imitation of Funfetti cake mix or batter. Because I have very few baking-related traumas, the scent evokes only pleasant memories of baking, birthdays, and other wholesome events worthy of a Pillsbury commercial.

Funfetti Cereal Sprinkles

The taste is equally spot-on: very vanilla-forward, not overly sweet, and with hints of buttery flavor. The colorful flecks — stand-ins for sprinkles — on the puffs themselves do not add flavor or texture, but are very visually appealing. The color presents opportunities to re-purpose the cereal in other snacks: as the base of a marshmallow cereal treat, part of a snack mix, or garnish on top of a confetti cake.

Funfetti Cereal in Milk

The cereal is made with corn flour, which I don’t typically prefer because the texture can turn gummy after a few bites, especially in milk. I was pleasantly surprised that the cereal pieces avoid this tendency, maybe in part due to their size. Each piece is about 1.5 times the size of a Cocoa Puff, so their lightly crunchy texture holds up pretty well in milk. Milk also seems to amplify the cereal’s sweetness, so if you really are debating between eating a bowl of cereal and a slab of icing-lathered cake for breakfast, choosing Funfetti cereal with milk might bring you closer to a reasonable compromise.

Anything else you need to know?

For those ambitious enough to cook their breakfasts, Pillsbury also offers a Funfetti pancake mix.

Conclusion:

Funfetti Cereal perfectly recreates the sweet vanilla flavor of its namesake cake. For anyone with a sweet tooth, it is satisfying, colorful comfort food at any time of day.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 17 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/4 cup) 160 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Post Dunkin’ Cereal

Vin 4 Comments

Post Dunkin Cereal

Don’t even talk to me in the morning until I’ve had my Dunkin’ coffee…cereal?!

That’s right folks, Post and Dunkin’ have collaborated on a coffee-based cereal.

Why it’s taken this long is anyone’s guess. But it makes sense as both coffee and cereal (along with about seven other things) have long been part of “a complete breakfast,” according to commercials. Why not combine the two?

This isn’t Dunkin’s first cereal, but it’s the first time the brand has cerealized a beverage flavor. You can now try Dunkin’s famous Mocha Latte and Caramel Macchiato in a bowl instead of a cup. I mean, you can probably use a cup if you want. You do you.

Post Dunkin Cereal Marshmallows

The cereals consist of Cocoa Puffs-style pieces with flavored marshmallows that look like little foam swirled lattes, and feature real Dunkin’ coffee, so you can add an additional, but negligible amount of caffeine to your morning. Sounds good to me.

Post Dunkin Mocha Latte Cereal Bowl

Mocha Latte hit me with a huge waft of coffee smell, which is both pleasant and mildly strange coming from a cereal. As far as taste, the cereal pieces aren’t that far off from the Cocoa Puffs they resemble. They’re chocolate heavy, with a generic coffee flavor accompaniment. The marshmallows burst with the titular coffee drink’s flavor. They taste exactly like sugary coffee foam and syrup.

If I had to narrow down a description, I’d say this is Count Chocula if you swapped coffee for milk (more on that later). Imagine a cereal called “Count Coffula” or “Café Chocula” or “Count Chock Full o’ Nutsula,” OR, don’t imagine anything. You do you.

Post Dunkin Caramel Macchiato Cereal Bowl

Caramel Macchiato smells like, and forgive me for crossing company lines, a Caramel Frappuccino. Think of any caramel centric cereal you’ve had, but with a kicker – you get a nice little coffee flavor infusion.

Imagine one of those gourmet popcorn companies making a “caramel coffee” flavor. That’s the flavor profile I keep coming back to. To use this example again, think of when you get to the bottom of your caramel Frap and its mostly ice, whipped cream, and caramel drizzle. It tastes like that.

I could have gone for even more coffee flavor, but I guess they have to appeal to kids. The cereal piece shapes are a bit uninspired, but the marshmallows are cute, and they’re the star of the show for me.

As far as the cereal milk flavor, Imagine the drinks the cereal is based on, but swap the coffee to dairy ratio. They each tasted like a coffee drink that is 75% milk or whatever your preferred dairy is.

Oh, and just out of sheer curiosity, I tried this: both cereals with coffee instead of milk.

Look out, we got a wild man here!

Post Dunkin Cereal Mixed

Why not? I had some coffee left over, threw in my splash of half and half and mixed equal parts of each cereal in. It was a half and half and half and half. I kinda loved it. The coffee sopped into the cereal pieces and gave it that extra oomph I wanted, and the mocha and caramel flavors pushed through. If you’re feeling bold, give this a shot, but obviously, use cold coffee.

So yeah, these are ultimately a winner for me. There’s just enough coffee flavor to get your fix while also not scaring off the kids. I’m probably just gonna mix the two bags together at this point. I may even isolate a bag of the marshmallows and use them as ingredients in some kind of snack mix. Feel free to leave some suggestions on what I should add.

I’m hoping this leads to more coffee cereals. You have to imagine Starbucks will put something out if these do well. Hit us with a line of Frap cereals. As for Dunkin’, I’m not sure which coffees they can mimic next, but how about a Munchkin Cereal that features ALL the Munchkin flavors in one box?

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 11 oz boxes
Purchased at: Received from Post Cereals
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Mocha Latte), 8 out of 10 (Caramel Macchiato)
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/3 cup) Mocha Latte – 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 18 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein. Caramel Macchiato – 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal

Marvo 7 Comments

Kellogg s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal Box

Kellogg’s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal is a cinnamon-flavored cereal with marshmallows. Oh, I’m sorry, not just any marshmallows, but something called Creeper Bit Marshmallows.

Full disclosure: Because I’m only allowed to use boring word processing and image editing apps on my computer, I’ve never played Minecraft. I did play Minesweeper…once. Apparently, they aren’t the same. So I don’t know what a creeper is.

I assume it’s a bad guy in the game who secretly takes photos of other characters in unflattering positions or steals their underwear. Again, I haven’t played Minecraft, so I don’t know. I’m only speaking about creepers from experie…um, experiments I’ve read about creepers in real life.

Kellogg s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal Closeup

The multigrain cereal pieces have a pleasant and heavy cinnamon aroma, which isn’t surprising since the spice is listed as an ingredient. But when I first opened the box, the cereal’s shape bothered me. However, I couldn’t put my finger on why. I’m sure the pieces represent something in the game I don’t play, but after eating three-fourths of the box, I realized they remind me of dry cat food.

Like the box, the marbits are green, and although they look like they could glow, they do not, as you can see in the photo below.

Kellogg s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal No Glow

So I have an online record of making fun of cereals with movie tie-ins because it seems 95 percent of the time they’re just sweetened oat or corn pieces with marshmallows. And I was ready to pounce on this cereal + marshmallow combo, but much like the cinnamon spice warmed my taste buds, it also warmed my heart enough to like this. Also, the marshmallows helped by enhancing the cereal’s sweetness. I mean, it’s not even close to being in the same universe as Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I found it decent tasting.

Although I should add that it’s less decent when eaten dry, it smells better than it tastes, and it dissolves in my mouth in an odd way that I’ve never experienced before with a cereal.

Since many folks play Minecraft, I should mention every box unlocks a special in-game clothing item for your character. The code is inside the box, and since I don’t play Minecraft, here’s my box’s code — W73C2-K36QK-V6PRJ-YYFHD-PK2CZ (I hope that’s correct because some of the print was difficult to read).

You’re welcome, the first person to type in the code correctly. And, I’m sorry to everyone else after that person. But if you want your own code, go buy Kellogg’s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal. Just remember to eat it with milk.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. (Thanks Kellogg’s!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 8 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/3 cup without milk) 140 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Smartfood Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix

Marvo 2 Comments

Smartfood Cap n Crunch s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix Bag

When I first heard about Smartfood’s Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix, I thought, “Why isn’t there a Cap’n Crunch Kettle Corn Mix?”

But after putting more thought than anyone should about the idea, I realized, “Do I REALLY want popcorn kernel hulls lodged into whatever scratches are made by the Cap’n Crunch cereal?”

Nope.

This less hurtful snack combines Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries from Quaker, owned by PepsiCo, with berry-flavored popcorn from Smartfood, also owned by PepsiCo. Because of the added kernel seasoning, it would be difficult to recreate this combo after its limited time is up with merely a bag of plain microwave popcorn and box of Oops All Berries.

But this is tasty enough that it should come back, or be a permanent addition to the Smartfood lineup.

Smartfood Cap n Crunch s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix Bag Closeup

Sadly, the popcorn itself isn’t colored like rainbow popcorn. Instead, at a quick glance, they look like plain popcorn. But there is a seasoning layer that makes the popped kernels look like they spent some time suntanning on the deck of the S.S. Guppy. That coating provides a noticeable amount of berry flavor and light saltiness. But it’s not enough to make the popcorn alone a satisfying snack or a product that should be added to the Smartfood lineup.

The Crunch Berries amp up the berry flavor to a level you’d get if you were, well, eating Crunch Berries cereal. I know. It’s a little anticlimactic. Maybe if I rephrase it with ship-speak? The cereal’s flavor hits the bow, stem, port, and starboard sides of my tongue full steam ahead with berry. It’s berry good.

While I find this snack to be wonderful, there is a minor, but correctable issue. When I first started eating it by blindly grabbing some from its bag, I’d feel for the cereal pieces and then feel for some popcorn before pulling out my hand. But almost every time, my fingers would pull out only popcorn. I guess the cereal piece I felt for slipped away somehow. Or I might have the worst luck or useless fingers. But being able to see the cereal pieces, pick one up, and then grab some popcorn helped tremendously.

While Smartfood Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix tastes pretty much like Crunch Berries, I did love having the two crunchy textures of popcorn and cereal at the same time in my mouth. Yes, this does seem like an odd combination, but I’m happy to report it works well.

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. (Thanks, PepsiCo!) Doing so did not influence my review, although it totally seems like it. But I assure you it did not.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6 1/4 oz bag
Purchased at: Received from PepsiCo
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 3/4 cups) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Special Edition Cookies & Creme Krispies Cereal

Marvo 5 Comments

Kellogg s Special Edition Cookies Creme Krispies Cereal Box

What is Kellogg’s Special Edition Cookies & Creme Krispies?

It’s a flavor I didn’t see coming. I thought Rice Krispies was now all about making colorful seasonal versions, like its Spring Colors and Red & Blue varieties, because they would look cool in a Rice Krispies Treat. I expected an orange and brown fall-colored cereal to appear before any new flavor. But here we are with a cereal made rice, sugar, salt, rice flour, malt flavor, cocoa processed with alkali, and natural flavor.

How is it?

While Rice Krispies snap, crackle, and pop, its flavor, no matter the variety, has never popped, and that’s the case with this cereal. It’s probably the reason why I’ve preferred Cocoa Pebbles over Cocoa Rice Krispies.

Kellogg s Special Edition Cookies Creme Krispies Cereal Closeup

It’s been a while since I’ve had Cocoa Rice Krispies because, you know, the whole Cocoa-Pebbles-being-better-thing. So I can’t say how or if this differs from Cocoa Rice Krispies. But I’ve eaten through three-fourths of this box of Cookies & Creme Krispies, which smells like Cocoa Pebbles Lite, and found myself being fine with the mild cocoa flavor. That’s something I can’t say about Cocoa Krispies.

But I don’t taste the creme part.

Which makes me wonder if we have to include our own creme, i.e., milk. I use Silk Vanilla Soy Milk, so pouring it into this cereal adds a creme flavor. But I don’t taste it when I eat it dry, which, by the way, is still quite good.

Anything else you need to know?

Kellogg s Special Edition Cookies Creme Krispies Cereal Super Closeup

The cereal isn’t as sprinkled with cocoa cookies specks as what’s shown on the box. It’s a bit more sparse.

I would’ve turned this into Rice Krispies Treats, and there’s even a recipe on the back of the box, so I don’t have to Google one and then have every ad I see from then on be about baking. But then I thought about the last time I made Rice Krispies Treats and how I ate the entire sheet. I didn’t even cut it into pieces. My fingers pecked at the marshmallow and cereal treat slab like a bird.

Conclusion:

I’ve found most Rice Krispies varieties to be underwhelming, so I’m surprised I enjoyed Kellogg’s Cookies & Creme Krispies. Maybe I should buy another box and make a Rice Krispies Treats slab that my fingers can peck at.

Purchased Price: Way too much on eBay
Size: 12 oz box
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/4 cup without milk) 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.